2018 ASPR In-House Physician Recruitment Benchmarking Report

RPT_CoverPDF(Based on Calendar Year 2017 Statistics)
The 2018 ASPR In-House Physician Recruitment Benchmarking Report provides a detailed analysis of key statistics experienced by in-house recruitment professionals during calendar year 2017. Based on confidential surveys submitted between February and June 2017, representing more than 6,300 searches nationwide, the Benchmarking Report includes a compilation and analysis of: organizations by which recruitment professionals are employed; active searches performed during 2017; in-house physician recruiter profile statistics; compensation data of in-house physician recruiters, and departmental expenses.

The Benchmarking Report is an annual study published by the Association of Staff Physician Recruiters (ASPR), a professional organization exclusively for in-house physician recruitment professionals. ASPR is the leading authority on physician recruitment, onboarding, and retention. The organization’s focus is to support and enhance the careers of in-house recruitment professionals. ASPR is comprised of more than 1,700 in-house physician recruitment professionals employed directly by hospitals, clinics, physician practices, academic medical centers, and managed care organizations from across the United States and Canada.

The 2018 ASPR In-House Physician Recruitment Benchmarking Report was compiled, tabulated and analyzed by Industry Insights Inc. (www.industryinsights.com), an independent professional research and consulting firm that specializes in conducting benchmarking surveys, market assessments, customer satisfaction research, educational programs and other forms of customized research.

Executive Summary
ASPR is pleased to announce that the 2018 ASPR In‐House Physician Recruitment Benchmarking Report is now available. The newly published Report is an annual survey conducted by the Association of Staff Physician Recruiters (ASPR), a professional organization exclusively for in‐house physician recruitment professionals. ASPR is the leading authority on physician recruitment, onboarding, and retention. ASPR is comprised of more than 1,700 in‐house physician recruitment professionals employed directly by hospitals, clinics, physician practices, academic medical centers, and managed care organizations from across the United States and Canada.

The 2018 ASPR In-House Physician Recruitment Benchmarking Report is designed to provide easy-to-comprehend statistics to help in-house physician recruitment professionals compare their recruitment data against industry norms. Benchmarks are critical for our industry as we constantly strive for improved processes and results within our organizations to meet the healthcare needs within our communities. The purpose of the survey is to collect and distribute credible industry data that may be utilized to meet these objectives.

The 2018 ASPR In-House Physician Recruitment Benchmarking Report provides a detailed analysis of key statistics on provider recruitment searches conducted by in‐house physician recruiters during calendar year 2017. A total of 130 organizations participated, providing data for 476 in‐house physician recruiters and 6,379 active searches. Please refer to the full Report and Searchable Results for comprehensive information.

Demographics
The geographical distribution of participating organizations was relatively balanced again this year, with 30% in the Midwest, 28% in Southern states, 23% in Eastern states, and 19% in Western states. The typical* responding organization is in a metropolitan area of 50,001 to 250,000 people, though nearly 1/3 of respondents are based in an area with a population greater than 500,000 people. Eight percent of respondents were from a population with less than 10,000 people.

Organizations tend to employ 2 staff members (4.8 on average) in their in-house physician recruitment department. New this year, the survey captured the portion of staff members who provide mainly support functions. While most companies do not have employees in support-only roles, those with larger departments cited that approximately 1/3 of their staff provide mainly support functions. Overall, companies that employ supporting staff tend to see quicker fill rates for their positions and higher levels of staff productivity.

The typical organization performed 53 active searches during 2017, climbing from 45 searches in 2016. Approximately 2/3 of these searches were for Physicians, while 1/3 were for non-physician providers, such as Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants. Organizations averaged 23 active searches per person in the recruitment department, which is consistent with 2016 and continues an upward trend. When excluding support staff, primary recruiters led 31 searches during 2017.

Seventy-five percent of respondents use an applicant tracking system, and the data show that tracking systems provide significant benefits to the organizations that employ them. For instance, organizations that use an applicant tracking system averaged significantly fewer days to fill their positions and higher levels of productivity from their recruiters, in terms of searches per recruiter.

Searches
The Searches section relays key statistics about 6,379 searches, of which 44% were to replace a departing provider. More than 60% of active searches were filled by year‐end; 32% remained open; 6% were cancelled; and 2% were put on hold. Once again, the majority (65%) of searches were for practices owned by Hospitals/Integrated Delivery Systems.

The largest number of searches in 2017 were for Nurse Practitioners, Family Medicine Physicians, Hospital Medicine Physicians, Physician Assistants, and Internal Medicine Physicians. Among physician specialties, the largest volume of searches were for physicians specializing in Family Medicine, Hospital Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, and Urgent Care. Nearly 3/4 of responding organizations searched for a Family Medicine physician in 2017. This was followed by Internal Medicine (searched by 58%) and Neurology (searched by 55%).

Specialties were again grouped into four main divisions: Advanced Practice, Primary Care, Specialty Care, and Surgery. Of these divisions, Advanced Practice searches were filled in 77 days, while Specialty Care positions required 153 days. Primary Care and Surgery specialties tended to be filled in 130 and 139 days, respectively.

Recruiter Profile & Compensation
The Profile and Compensation section reports data on 476 in‐house physician recruitment professionals from 127 organizations. As in past studies, the most frequently cited position title was “Physician Recruiter,” which matched 35% of reported positions. Other popular titles were Physician Recruitment Coordinator/Specialist/Assistant (18%) and Senior Physician Recruiter” (16%). The typical in-house recruitment professional is a female (85%) with 8 years of recruitment experience (average = 9 years). Approximately 85% of their time is spent on recruitment activities. Twenty-three percent supervise staff, 55% have provider onboarding responsibilities, and 30% have provider retention responsibilities. More than 80% of recruiters hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (25% hold a master’s degree).

All compensation values were reported and validated directly by a member of the organization’s Human Resources department. Compensation varies by title with the title of Director, Physician Recruitment and Retention being the most highly compensated. Nearly half of all in-house physician recruiters were eligible to receive a bonus in 2017 with a median bonus of $4,700. Those with higher titles were more likely to receive bonuses.

As expected, a correlation exists between years of experience and total compensation. The highest income earners are more likely to have advanced degrees, responsibilities for supervising staff, and more years of experience.

Expenses
The Expenses section captures data within four categories: Candidate Expenses, Search Firm Fees, Marketing Expenses, and Departmental Expenses. Seventy-nine organizations provided their expense data for this year’s survey.

The typical organization reported an annual recruitment budget of $400,000 ($822,000 on average). Budgets varied considerably, based on the number of searches the organization conducted, and there were also significant variations based on the geographic regions and surrounding population sizes.

Disclaimer
The benchmarks reported in this Executive Summary are intended to provide healthcare recruiters and leaders with a point of reference for the purposes of education and process refinement. There are innumerable variables that should be taken into consideration when comparing your organization’s data to national medians, any one of which can have a significant impact on recruitment outcomes. It is recommended that a more detailed examination be conducted with regard to the specific geographic region, population, specialty and organizational demographics of the market in question.

The full report, along with online access to pre-populated Snapshots of the most often requested benchmarks, an interactive Searchable Results tool that allows users to select specific data sets to create custom reports, and a HR-validated Compensation Calculator is available for purchase at ASPR.org.

Participants in the annual ASPR In-House Physician Recruitment Benchmarking Survey receive free access to all of the tools available through purchase, plus customized reports that show your own data alongside peer organizations most similar to yours.

Please contact us with questions or comments at info@aspr.org
 
* Throughout this report, the term “typical” indicates the median response.